Minneapolis again at the center of criticism/ Immigration officer shoots Venezuelan man

2026-01-15 07:40:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Minneapolis again at the center of criticism/ Immigration officer shoots

A new incident, where an agent of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), yesterday evening in Minneapolis, shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an arrest.

This event comes just days after the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in the same city, causing a wave of strong reactions.

According to a statement from the US Department of Homeland Security, the new incident occurred after a targeted vehicle stop as part of an operation to arrest an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. He reportedly attempted to flee in his car, crashed into a parked vehicle and then fled on foot.

According to authorities, two men emerged from a nearby home and attacked the federal agent using a snow shovel and a broom. The same statement said that while the agent was being attacked by three men, the Venezuelan suspect managed to temporarily escape and began beating him as well.

"Fearing for his life and safety, the agent opened fire in self-defense ," authorities said, adding that the man was wounded in the leg.

Both the agent and the injured person were taken to the hospital, while two other people suspected of participating in the attack were taken into custody. The incident occurred 7 kilometers north of where, on Wednesday, January 7, Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed in her car by an ICE agent.

The Trump administration argued at the time that the agent acted in self-defense, claiming the woman used her vehicle as a weapon. That version was disputed by state and local officials, who said bystander video showed the woman's car speeding away from the agents at the time of the shooting.

Following the incident, several protesters gathered near the scene, expressing their anger at ICE operations in Minneapolis. The presence of federal agents and police officers brought new tensions, with security forces using tear gas to disperse the crowd. Minneapolis has been at the center of the Trump administration's tough immigration policy, with hundreds of additional federal agents deployed to the area in recent days, further exacerbating the already tense climate. /CNA